Maker's Mark: Massive Makur moment mutes Melbourne

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Illawarra Hawks stretch five Makur Maker ($99,800)'s moment came, and he didn't hesitate.

The athletic 2.08m South Sudanese-Australian buried a massive three with 1:11 left to put the Hawks in front for good against Melbourne United in Round 5 of NBL27 on Sunday, October 18, 2026, in Melbourne.

It's the 25-year-old's biggest shot in his four games with Illawarra - it led to the NBL25 champs' second win of the season, 91-89. The Hawks moved to 2-6 while Jacob Chance's United are still searching for their identity at 3-4.

"We know MK is a very talented young man. He has a really good skill set," Hawks head coach Justin Tatum said.

"That shot he made towards the end was big, much needed.

"But prior to that, he was really good defensively. He was talking, moving his feet and got a couple of lobs above the rim."

Maker, Thon Maker's cousin, finished with 23 points (10-for-14), six boards, a steal, and a block in 20 minutes. In four games, he's averaging 19.8 minutes, 14.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. He's shooting 66.7% from the field (24-for-36), 45.5% from three (5-for-11), and 71.4% from the line (5-for-7). Per game, he's added 1.3 offensive and 4.5 defensive boards, 0.3 steals, 0.8 blocks, 1.0 turnovers and 2.8 fouls.

Tatum credited the Hawks front office with identifying Maker after they released NBL25 championship forward Darius Days one game into the season.

Maker had played 11 games for Taipei Taishin Mars in Taiwan, averaging 26.2 points and 11 rebounds before the Hawks called.

"Our administration, our GM, was doing his due diligence and trying to find us the best available player," Tatum said.

"MK came across our desk, and we jumped on it. We wanted to make sure he was the right piece, the right fit.

"He was ready to go as soon as we called, and we got him here, just for the fact that he's only been here almost two and a half weeks.

"Two games ago, when he played South East, he was off the plane on Friday and played that Sunday, I believe, and had 14-plus points.

"Once he gets his feet under him, his confidence, finds his shots in the offence, he'll be fine."

Illawarra led by 16 points with 1:07 remaining in the second quarter but barely escaped a Luke Travers ($292,900) game-winner at the buzzer as the former Cleveland Cavaliers wing's three rimmed out.

"A huge lift. A huge lift," Tatum said.

"We're not a 1-6 team. We never were a 1-6 team.

"We're going through adversity like a lot of other teams, but from the beginning, we never built this team to be 1-6.

"Going through this adversity today, showing we can keep teams under 90 points, as long as guys stick together, understand what we're doing, stay organised, we can compete in this league."

Chance lamented United, still without shooting star Chris Goulding ($188,900), being pulled apart in the second quarter as the Hawks hammered them 35-16 after trailing 27-21.

"They have 24 points in the paint in the second quarter alone," Chance said.

"Then we keep them to 24 points in the paint for the whole second half.

"So dry up the easy ones for them. And then, you know, we dry up the turnovers too.

"They have 17 points off turnovers in the first half, only four in the second. Eight second-chance points in the first half, zero in the second.

"So just effort areas, urgency areas, and still hold them to 91, which is an achievable outcome.

"But unfortunately, the game was lost in that second quarter."

Consistency has been hard to come by for United, and Chance admitted his side didn't match the desire of a backs-to-the-wall road team.

"I could sit here and theorise," Chance added.

"I would say we haven't been that up and down. Like Chris has been out for a while now.

"We've been pretty consistent with our rotation. All these guys have been playing really good basketball the last couple of games.

"I think it's just a mindset. We knew coming in, and it's a good reminder.

"Not good enough. 1-6. They read all that. They're fuelled.

"We knew there was going to be a response from those guys.

"I thought we put ourselves in a pretty good position at the end of the first quarter.

"But then, yeah, they're desperate. They're 1-6, looking for a win and looking for a response, and we weren't able to match that in the second."

Watch

NBL27

Melbourne United vs Illawarra Hawks | Round 5 Highlights

Watch the highlights as Melbourne United take on the Illawarra Hawks in Round 5 of NBL27 on October 18, 2026.

What you need to know

• The Illawarra Hawks beat Melbourne United 91-89 at John Cain Arena in Round 5 of NBL27 on Sunday, October 18, 2026.
• Melbourne won the first quarter 27-21, Illawarra won the second 35-16 to lead 56-43 at half-time and 78-65 at three-quarter time, Melbourne won the fourth 24-13 and led 89-87 with 1:22 left, and Makur Maker ($99,800) hit the three that put Illawarra back in front for good with 1:11 left.
• Cole Anthony ($300,000) top-scored with 24 points on 9-from-19, 20 of them in the second half, and Makur Maker led Illawarra with 23 off the bench on 10-from-14 in 19:57.
• Melbourne turned it over nine times in the second quarter and 18 times in the game. Illawarra turned it over 10 times and had 10 steals.
• Melbourne won the rebounds 50-32, with 19 offensive to eight, and went 20-from-29 at the line to Illawarra's 9-from-12, but Illawarra's bench outscored Melbourne's 53-24.

Illawarra Hawks

• Makur Maker ($99,800) led Illawarra with 23 points and six rebounds off the bench on 10-from-14, including 2-from-5 from three, in 19:57, and hit the go-ahead three with 1:11 left.
• Milton Doyle ($274,700) had 16 points and seven assists on 6-from-13, including 3-from-8 from three, assisted Maker's go-ahead three and made the second of two free throws with seven seconds left.
• Kelan Martin ($277,000) scored 14 off the bench on 5-from-10, including 1-from-4 from three, with two blocks.
• Sam Froling ($228,200) had 12 points, six rebounds and three assists on 6-from-10, all 12 points in the first half.
• William Hickey ($331,600) scored nine off the bench on 4-from-12, including 1-from-6 from three, with two steals.
• Tyler Harvey ($271,700) had nine points, five rebounds and four assists on 3-from-8, with 3-from-3 at the line.
• Daniel Grida ($92,300) had seven points and three steals off the bench on 3-from-5, and was +9 in 16:08, the best plus-minus on his team.
• Illawarra shot 37-from-76 from the field, 8-from-29 from three and 9-from-12 at the line, with 32 rebounds, 21 assists and 10 turnovers.

Melbourne United

• Cole Anthony ($300,000) top-scored with 24 points, six rebounds and five assists on 9-from-19, including 3-from-5 from three, with 20 in the second half and 11 in the fourth quarter.
• Josh Oduro ($277,000) had 16 points and seven rebounds, five of them offensive, on 6-from-13, and his tip-in with 1:22 left put Melbourne ahead 89-87.
• Joe Ingles ($300,000) had 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists off the bench on 6-from-6, with three turnovers.
• Sam Waardenburg ($277,500) scored 13 on 4-from-7, with 4-from-7 at the line, and 11 of his points came in the first half.
• Luke Travers ($292,900) had 12 points and seven rebounds on 4-from-12, including 0-from-4 from three, and missed a three with two seconds left that would have won it.
• Shea Ili ($175,300) scored four off the bench on 1-from-8, with three turnovers.
• Tom Wilson ($69,000) scored three on 1-from-3 in 16:03, a first-quarter three that gave Melbourne an 18-16 lead.
• Melbourne shot 32-from-72 from the field, 5-from-17 from three and 20-from-29 at the line, with 50 rebounds, 19 assists and 18 turnovers.